Luxury SUV test: Edmunds compares the Lincoln Nautilus and Mercedes-Benz GLC

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Luxury SUV test: Edmunds compares the Lincoln Nautilus and Mercedes-Benz GLC

2024-10-30 18:20 Last Updated At：18:30

While Lincoln’s full-size Navigator is great for big families and towing, the recently redesigned Lincoln Nautilus should have broader appeal for SUV shoppers. It’s a midsize SUV that seats five and boasts distinctive styling, lots of premium features, and an eye-catching curved display that spans the width of the dashboard. So how does this Lincoln measure up to the competition? To find out, the car experts at Edmunds compared it to the Mercedes-Benz GLC, a benchmark for luxury SUV excellence.

The Nautilus offers two engines, a turbocharged four-cylinder that produces 250 horsepower and a hybrid version of the same engine that bumps output to 310 horsepower. The non-hybrid engine delivers an EPA-estimated 24 mpg in combined city/highway driving. Opting for the hybrid gets you 30 mpg combined. Those are decent figures for a luxury SUV. Edmunds has found the Nautilus’ acceleration is underwhelming, however. At the Edmunds test track, the hybrid Nautilus accelerated from zero to 60 mph in 7.2 seconds.

The GLC 300, which is the base version, is also powered by a turbocharged four-cylinder engine. It produces 255 horsepower and gets an estimated 26 mpg combined. It’s also quicker than the Nautilus; it hit 60 mph in a respectable 6.1 seconds. The GLC 350e, which is new for 2025, is a 313-horsepower plug-in hybrid model. The EPA has yet to release its fuel economy estimates as of this writing, but Mercedes says it provides a lengthy 54 miles of all-electric driving before it switches over to operating like a regular hybrid when the battery runs low. Mercedes also offers a high-performance version, the 416-horsepower AMG GLC 43.

We like that Lincoln offers an available hybrid, but the GLC’s superior acceleration and fuel efficiency help it win this category.

Winner: GLC

An expansive dashboard-spanning screen dominates the Nautilus’ interior. It displays the instrument panel and other information like navigation directions and music. It also has a full Google integration that lets you use helpful features like the voice-based Google Assistant while driving. But all this impressive tech is let down by functionality. The center console button layout is confusing, and the lower touchscreen controls almost everything including the air vents. The unlabeled steering wheel controls are also difficult to use.

The GLC offers a more elegant and luxurious interior thanks to a wide selection of leather upholstery and wood trim. Its display screens are smaller, but the interface they display is much easier to use. The same goes for the GLC’s button layout and navigation and voice assistant systems.

As for comfort, both luxury SUVs boast very quiet interiors. The GLC provides a smoother ride that absorbs bumps better. Edmunds has found that the Nautilus rides a bit too firmly over rough surfaces.

Winner: GLC

The Nautilus is the better pick if you have a lot of stuff to haul. Its cargo area offers 36.4 cubic feet of space behind its rear seats. That’s considerably more than the GLC can fit. In addition, the rear seats fold completely flat for more room. Storage for your small personal items is also impressive thanks to a generous storage area under the center console that’s large enough for a purse or bag and sizable door pockets.

The GLC’s 21.9 cubic feet of cargo space is less than what the Nautilus can hold, though its rear seats also fold nearly flat. Wide door pockets and a decent-sized glove box provide adequate small item storage but it still isn’t as much as what you can fit in the Nautilus.

Winner: Nautilus

The Nautilus’ base Premiere trim starts at $53,485 (including destination), and the hybrid engine adds $2,000. The Reserve trim adds nearly $10,000, and the top Black Label model balloons to $76,645. If you stick to the Premiere trim, the Nautilus offers plenty of value because it comes loaded with a lengthy list of features including lots of advanced driver aids and BlueCruise, a hands-free highway driving system. But higher trims are pricey, offering less value.

The GLC 300 starts at $50,400 and the GLC 350e plug-in hybrid model has a starting price of $61,050. The GLC doesn’t come standard with as many features, but if you add most of the optional packages and features to a GLC 300, it will set you back about $65,000, which is about the same price as the midlevel Nautilus Reserve.

Winner: tie

Lincoln has come out with one of its more compelling SUVs to date with the new Nautilus. It’s worth considering if you want a roomy SUV that’s also stylish. Otherwise, Edmunds thinks the GLC’s superior fuel efficiency, acceleration and ease of use make it the winner of this comparison.

This story was provided to The Associated Press by the automotive website Edmunds.

Michael Cantu is a contributor at Edmunds.

Video captures Minneapolis immigration arrest in a city on edge after shooting of Renee Good

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Federal agents carrying out immigration arrests in Minnesota's Twin Cities region already shaken by the fatal shooting of a woman rammed the door of one home Sunday and pushed their way inside, part of what the Department of Homeland Security has called its largest enforcement operation ever.

In a dramatic scene similar to those playing out across Minneapolis, agents captured a man in the home just minutes after pepper spraying protesters outside who had confronted the heavily armed federal agents. Along the residential street, protesters honked car horns, banged on drums and blew whistles in attempts to disrupt the operation.

Video of the clash taken by The Associated Press showed some agents pushing back protesters while a distraught woman later emerged from the house with a document that federal agents presented to arrest the man. Signed by an immigration officer, the document — unlike a warrant signed by a judge — does not authorize forced entry into a private residence. A warrant signed by an immigration officer only authorizes arrest in a public area.

Immigrant advocacy groups have conducted extensive “know-your-rights” campaigns urging people not to open their doors unless agents have a court order signed by a judge.

But within minutes of ramming the door in a neighborhood filled with single-family homes, the handcuffed man was led away.

More than 2,000 immigration arrests have been made in Minnesota since the enforcement operation began at the beginning of December, said Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem told Fox News on Sunday that the administration would send additional federal agents to Minnesota to protect immigration officers and continue enforcement.

The Twin Cities — the latest target in President Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement campaign — is bracing for what is next after 37-year-old Renee Good was shot and killed by an immigration officer on Wednesday.

“We’re seeing a lot of immigration enforcement across Minneapolis and across the state, federal agents just swarming around our neighborhoods,” said Jason Chavez, a Minneapolis city councilmember. “They’ve definitely been out here.”

Chavez, the son of Mexican immigrants who represents an area with a growing immigrant population, said he is closely monitoring information from chat groups about where residents are seeing agents operating.

People holding whistles positioned themselves in freezing temperatures on street corners Sunday in the neighborhood where Good was killed, watching for any signs of federal agents.

More than 20,000 people have taken part in a variety of trainings to become “observers” of enforcement activities in Minnesota since the 2024 election, said Luis Argueta, a spokesperson for Unidos MN, a local human rights organization .

“It’s a role that people choose to take on voluntarily, because they choose to look out for their neighbors,” Argueta said.

The protests have been largely peaceful, but residents remained anxious. On Monday, Minneapolis public schools will start offering remote learning for the next month in response to concerns that children might feel unsafe venturing out while tensions remain high.

Many schools closed last week after Good’s shooting and the upheaval that followed.

While the enforcement activity continues, two of the state’s leading Democrats said that the investigation into Good's shooting death should not be overseen solely by the federal government.

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and U.S. Sen. Tina Smith said in separate interviews Sunday that state authorities should be included in the investigation because the federal government has already made clear what it believes happened.

“How can we trust the federal government to do an objective, unbiased investigation, without prejudice, when at the beginning of that investigation they have already announced exactly what they saw — what they think happened," Smith said on ABC’s "This Week."

The Trump administration has defended the officer who shot Good in her car, saying he was protecting himself and fellow agents and that Good had “weaponized” her vehicle.

Todd Lyons, acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, defended the officer on Fox News Channel’s “The Sunday Briefing.”

"That law enforcement officer had milliseconds, if not short time to make a decision to save his life and his other fellow agents,” he said.

Lyons also said the administration’s enforcement operations in Minnesota wouldn't be needed “if local jurisdictions worked with us to turn over these criminally illegal aliens once they are already considered a public safety threat by the locals.”

The killing of Good by an ICE officer and the shooting of two people by federal agents in Portland, Oregon, led to dozens of protests in cities across the country over the weekend, including New York, Los Angeles, Washington D.C. and Oakland, California.

Contributing were Associated Press journalists Giovanna Dell’Orto in Minneapolis; Thomas Strong in Washington; Bill Barrow in Atlanta; Christopher Weber in Los Angeles; and John Seewer in Toledo, Ohio.